Life Skills Based Education

Life Skills Based Education is a cross cutting strand provided to all beneficiaries enrolled in remedial/vocational strands. The program aims to equip adolescent girls with core life-skills intend to create a positive change in their attitudes and prepare marginalized girls for a better tomorrow. The strand incorporates strong values of leadership, communication, health & hygiene and critical thinking ability. Highlighting education as a tool for empowerment, the program also raised awareness about the rights of women through a mobile cinema, workshop, sessions and documentary films in partnership with SOC Films, British Council, EdTechWorks and Girls Rising.


Partnership with SOC Films - Mobile Cinema

ITA has partnered with SOC (Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy) Films to launch mobile cinema (a fully equipped truck that has the capability to project screenings both within and outside the truck) in the targeted schools and communities. The purpose of mobile cinema is to highlight the importance of education as a tool for empowerment and raise awareness about the rights of women. Film screenings have taken place in all three districts across hubs and communities to raise awareness about the issues facing girls and increase their potential to become influential leaders.


Customized Films

 Nine customized short films highlighting important strands of growth for adolescent girls have been created to educate the girls & give them exposure.

Education

A young girl named asghari talks to us about the importance of education and the many benefits that we can reap from it.

 

 Covid and Mental Health

 

Self Defence

 

 

Civil Society

 

Covid + Domestic Violence

 

Menstruation

Menstruation continues to be a taboo in many parts of the world, this film aims to shatter the myths associated with menstruation and educate women about menstrual health.

 

Financial Literacy

Through this film we learn about understanding finances and making effective choices such as investing, budgeting and managing our financial resources.

 

Self Awareness

This film demystifies the concept of self awareness and how one can practice it in order to live a successful life.

Nutrition

Taking care of our diet is very important in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle, this film sheds light on the concept of having a balanced diet and making the right food choices.

 

Links to Other Films and Videos:

Aghaz-e-Safar: Domestic Violence

Aaghai: Domestic Violence 1

Aaghai: How to protect yourself against domestic violence

Aaghai: Forced Marriage

Aaghai: Acid Crime

Short films by Siyani Sahelian:

Beneficiary Feedback

On the third and last day of workshop when the lead trainer asked a group of girls what they had learnt from the entire process, to her surprise they said, “confidence”. One said, “Ma’am we get confidence by seeing the way you interact with everyone and sharing our stories little by little has enabled us to get rid of the shyness.”

A young teenager confided into the trainer and said, “ I have never felt heard the way I have with you, thank you for making me feel that my thoughts are valid.”

Right before our team was about to leave a hub after completing the 3-days workshop, a teacher approached the lead trainer and said, “I have never seen our girls enjoy a session as much as they did in the last three days where not just the confident ones have polished their skills but the shy ones are now participating actively. Nobody wants you to leave.”

On inquiring the importance of stories, girls came forward to explain, “Listening to other people’s stories can inspire us, give us strength that we are not alone and motivate us to keep following our dreams. Listening to our stories may do the same for others’’

Pictures and Images from Workshops

Partnership with British Council

Siyani Sahelian partnered with British Council to conduct session on enhancing participants’ English proficiency, digital skills and awareness of social issues. British council will train 40 peer group leaders, conduct F2F/Online session in 20 clubs with 300 beneficiaries including Hubs and the community center. The purpose of this project is to improve the life prospects of adolescent girls in socio-economically marginalised communities. As a result, they will be better able to make more informed and independent life choices, as is their right, in order to contribute more fully to the family, economy and society. In addition, EDGE aims to improve the leadership skills of a smaller group of peer leaders drawn from the same communities of adolescent girls.

Partnership with School of Leadership Foundation (SOLF)

ITA in partnership with the School of Leadership Foundation has conducted a three-day training to foster soft skills including self-confidence and critical thinking in 90 GEEA (Girls Education & Enterprise Alliance) leaders including Siyani Sahelian alumni and Malala Champions hailing from Muzaffargarh, Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan. The training ‘BOLO for Impact’ enables each beneficiary to practice their skills, not only on the topics of intervention but also on community organizing and mobilization for advocacy and local campaigns. The training provided a variety of experiences and multiple opportunities to GEEA Leaders through strengthening their leadership skills. Following are the key objective of the training:

  • 90 girls (3 cohorts of 30 participants each); Rahimyar Khan, Bahawalpur, Muzaffargarh
  • Learn transformative skills to become Champions and Stars for peer mentorship; amplify voice and influence action as agents of change; individually and/or create alliances.
  • Prepare, plan and administer interventions at 3 levels, i.e. households, educational institutions and community; AND government institutions, parliamentarians and media.
  • Address issues, solicit solutions and invite action as per needs of people at the three to six levels.

 

The 3-day skill development training for each batch was designed to help these young girls in exploring their strengths and capabilities. The 03 days of training took them of a self realisation journey to the need of recognizing the God gifted skills and bringing them to practice.

Partnership with Girls Rising

Siyani Sahelian partnered with Girl Rising (GR), a non-profit organization that uses the power of storytelling to change the way the world values girls and their education. As part of “The Explore More” program, GR tells stories about girls who face daunting barriers to their independence with determination and courage, strategically deploying these stories to fuel and strengthen social movements - informing and inspiring people to take action for girls and gender equality.

Partnership with EDTech Worx

Under our partnership with EDTW, 200 of our graduated TVET beneficiaries go through a 3-month one-of-a-kind virtual training on enterprise development and honing their entrepreneurial side. The course is adapted to the beneficiary group and is designed to track progress and learning levels of the beneficiaries.

Partnership with Circle Women

Siyani Sahelian partnered with CIRCLE Women, to conduct 8-month digital skills training workshop for 100 young beneficiaries followed by placement in relevant tech organizations and internships. The program includes teaching basic digital literacy and WordPress to train students in marketable demand driven tech skills and help them improve their opportunities for livelihoods. The program also provides key life skills to students to help them succeed in life and in today’s competitive job market. Some of the life skills included in the course are:

- Communication and Presentation
- Stress Management and Time Management
- Online digital safety
- Basic business skills (CV building, LinkedIn profiles, and interview skills)

The Siyani Sahelian Nesting Program

The SS Nesting manual has been designed by and for the Siyani Sahelian to help them make the transition from skill acquisition to enterprise development. The SS TVET graduates go through the 4-week program which is a mix of academic, case study, activity-based and peer group learning models.